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Sorbonne’s European flavour

In France, the pursuit of EU studies is not confined to the Grandes Ecoles, although that might sometimes be the impression unwittingly given by graduates of the elite educational institutions like Sciences Po.

The Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne offers a course in international relations and work overseas which can have a strong European flavour. The ‘Magistère Relations Internationales et Action à l’Etranger’ is a three-year course at the end of which students receive both the magistère diploma and the more internationally recog-nised masters degree.

One of the things that makes the course special is that built into it are work placements. Over the first two years students are expected to do four months of work experience. The third year contains at least four, preferably six months, of work experience between March and September. These placements necessarily make the course longer (indeed some of the teaching is shared with students pursuing a more straightforward masters degree, without the work placements). On the other hand, the work experience, much of it abroad, gives students a wide exposure to different career possibilities.

The university itself says that since the course was created in 1985, graduates have pursued careers in public service, non-governmental organisations and business, perhaps working as consultants, diplomats or even as EU civil servants.

There is a heavy emphasis on language studies. The course is in French, with study of English compulsory. In addition students are encouraged to pursue two more languages. Russian is popular and as with Spanish and German can be studied through classes at the Sorbonne. For more exotic languages, a student might have to turn to other institu­tions, such as the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales.

The first year provides a grounding across a wide range of subject-matter. There are classes in political science, law, economy and geopolitics, with necessarily a heavy emphasis on European history, divided into eastern and western Europe. Classes in the first year are compulsory.

In the second year, the compulsory elements include a seminar course on the European Union. Options are introduced which permit a measure of specialisation both in different geographical regions (eg, eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa) and in professional fields (diplomacy, media, trade, finance).

In the third year, the course splits into two strands, one with an emphasis on public service, the other on the world of business.

Competition for places on the course is intense, with, the university says, 250-300 applicants for 30-40 places. There are 26 in this year’s intake. A handful of students join in the second year. Most students are French and for the most part their age at the start of the course is about 21. They have to have done an under­graduate degree but their academic background varies. As well as having good grades and an ability in languages, it helps to have done an internship, preferably abroad.